Jinli Street, one of the snack havens in Chengdu, offers the chance to sample authentic nightlife.

Giant pandas and a pleasant living environment are some of Chengdu's major attractions, but the capital of southwestern Sichuan province is also justifiably proud of its appeal to foreign investors.

By far, Chengdu boasts the presence of 212 Fortune 500 companies, including Intel, Texas Instruments and Dell, surpassing all other cities in China's central and western regions.

The provincial capital was chosen to host the upcoming 2013 Fortune Global Forum, making it the third city in the mainland to hold the major business event after Shanghai and Beijing.

Chengdu's robust economic growth in recent years has attracted an increasing number of business travelers. Here are three attractions for business travelers.

About 20 giant pandas live at the Chengdu panda base.

1. Chengdu Giant Panda Breeding Research Base

The giant panda is the national treasure of China. There are fewer than 1,500 in the world, of which about 75 percent are found in Sichuan.

Located 10 kilometers away from downtown Chengdu, the Chengdu Panda Base has been re-created to follow pandas' natural habitats - large open grounds are built for the giant pandas to roam free, making it an great place to see the giant panda up close.

About 20 giant pandas live at the base. Other endangered species such as the red panda and the black-necked crane are also bred here.